The reaction of Keiko Fujimori and his family to the knowledge of the exit from the polls in Peru

The Fuerza Popular candidate received the first information in her bunker, surrounded by her husband Mark, her brother Kenji and her daughters Kyara Villanella, Kaori Marcela Villanella. In the footage, everyone is seen together in the center of the room, in front of a giant screen and holding hands. They count down, almost holding their breath, until 7:00 p.m., when the first exit from the polls is known.

You can barely hear the audio on the screen which predicts a narrow victory for Keiko but the emotion is noticeable. First a family hug then an endless one with his brother Kenji, with whom he reconciled in this electoral campaign after years of quarrels..

With 42.3% of the votes counted, the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) said Keiko Fujimori would get 52.9% of the vote, while Pedro Castillo would have 47.1% support. The data loading is gradual, so the final result is still uncertain and the authorities have already announced that it will only be known who won in the next few days.

As soon as the tables closed, the results of the first exit of the consulting firm Ipsos Peru were known. According to this study, Keiko Fujimori (Popular Force) would get 50.3%, while Pedro Castillo (Peru Free) 49.7%. However, a few hours after the publication of this poll, the rapid tally of the same consulting firm, granted a victory to the left candidate with 50.2% against 49.8% that Keiko Fujimori would obtain.

The contradiction between the two studies, which generates more and more uncertainties, is based on the fact that they are carried out using different methodologies, even though they belong to the same consulting firm: the ballot box is taken out by located outside the polling stations and the rapid count collects the results of a sample of polling stations and is carried out in the 27 electoral districts of the country, including abroad.

This result represents a “very tight technical draw”, According to Alfredo Torres, president of Ipsos Peru, in El Comercio. This first survey has a 3.3% margin of error and Torres added that “we have to wait for the quick count.”

The first exit figures confirm that Castillo is concentrating his support in rural areas of “deep Peru”, like his native Cajamarca, but there are Peruvians who fear the country could become a new Venezuela who voted en masse for Fujimori as “The lesser evil”. .

Whoever wins will face a huge challenge, as they will need to take urgent action to overcome the pandemic, economic recession and political instability, in the face of a fragmented Congress, corruption and mismanagement.

Castillo, on the other hand, received the poll numbers with concern. While awaiting the first official results, the left-wing candidate on Sunday evening called on his supporters to mobilize in the street “to defend each vote”.

“Since Tacabamba, I ask our representatives and personeras to be careful to defend every vote. I call on the Peruvian people from all corners of the country to take to the streets in peace to be vigilant in the defense of democracy ”, declared the presidential candidate of the Free Peru movement, on his social networks.

A few minutes later, the rural teacher addressed his supporters from his campaign headquarters in Tacabamba (Cajamarca). In a brief statement, he reiterated that they are taking to the streets “in peace, in all tranquility”: “This democratic party which maintains calm and reason”. He also announced that he would wait for the first official results to make a statement on the election day results.

The first official results will be known around 11 p.m. local (0400 GMT Monday).

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